Political maps are maps that have to do with government. They show where the boundaries and locations of countries, states, cities, towns and counties are. These boundaries and locations are generally determined by people rather than nature.
Countries are parts of continents with their own central government, sometimes referred to as nations.
States are a unit or part of a country, such as the United States, that have a federal government. Federal means that powers are shared between the states and national government. Capitals are the seats of government for states or where the government of a state takes place.
Counties are the parts in which a state is divided for purposes of government. In some states such as Louisiana these divisions are referred to as parishes. The county seat is the city or town in which the governing of the county takes place. Cities are the parts of states with great concentrations of people living and/or working there. Towns are like cities, but are smaller with fewer people. In addition different areas of a political map may be described as rural, meaning a farming area that is not as populated, urban areas that include big cities, and suburban areas that are the areas that surround cities that are not as populated
